"Ah, hell," Sarpa says all of a sudden. "You going to tell me why you're so nervous? Is this a town of cannibals?"\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|15010102]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|15010201]]>>
<<set $checked_burial = "yes">>//Maranym approaches the mound, finding a cross-shaped piece of wood stabbed into its center.//\n\nUse has worn down the wooden longsword more than time has. Chipped edges run the blade's edges ragged. Small, dirty hands once wielded the grip.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|09010102]]>><<choice [[( Move on )|09010106]]>>
//Scene 09-01. Interior, tunnels.\nMaranym can't resist opening up the hatch. Descending the ladder beyond, she finds herself in a network of subterranean tunnels, seemingly man-made but long abandoned. Traces of bestial remains overrun the floors and walls.//\n\n<<choice [[( Begin )|09010100b]]>>
I tell him of an old custom in the Capitonym family. In life, my ancestors marked their future graves with a replica of their weapon. In death, the true article replaced it, while the earth entombed their bones beneath.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|09010104]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|09010106]]>>
"Long lost relative?" Sarpa interrupts.\n\n<<choice [[( Speak )|09010103]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|09010106]]>>
The phrase rings in my ears, as familiar as it is foreign. I cannot place it. "Who could have made this? And why?"\n\n<<choice [[( End )|09010106]]>>
//Sarpa approaches the wooden longsword.//\n\nHe reads an inscription on the blade: "Seek ever more."\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|09010105]]>><<choice [[( Say nothing )|09010106]]>>
//Then, echoes of a beastly cry storm the tunnels from deeper in. Maranym and Sarpa look away from the burial mound.\n\nShe focuses the crystal in her hand and releases from it her weapon. She heads in, battleaxe drawn.//\n\n<<choice [[( Continue )|10010100]]>>
"Look out!" Sarpa cries.\n\n<<choice [[( Continue )|11010102]]>>
"I have met others, yes, but none quite like you. None of them have been even half as lucid."\n\nI remind him he still hasn't answered my question.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|08010204]]>><<choice [[( Withdraw )|08010300]]>>
"I thought you said you've dealt with people like me before."\n\n<<choice [[( Speak )|08010203]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|08010301]]>>
"What is it like— being as you are?"\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|08010202]]>><<choice [[( Withdraw )|08010300]]>>
//Something buried in the dirt at Maranym's feet shines. She leans down and unearths a strongbox.//\n\nThe steel box fills both hands and weighs heavy in them. Inside, coiled around three small pegs are the chains of triplet pendants. A skilled hand has engraved the heads with three different beasts: a thorned spider, a coiled snake, and a vampyr bat.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|12020203]]>><<choice [[( Leave )|12060201]]>>
He says nothing.\n\n<<choice [[( Continue )|12020301]]>>
But the number strike me as much as the images. "Have I told you, Sarpa, that I am the youngest of three?"\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|12020205]]>><<choice [[( End )|12020301]]>>
After a pause, Sarpa smiles. "What's one more stranger in the world? Even if he is in every mirror."\n\nHe seems to look at something on the ceiling.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|08010301]]>><<choice [[( End )|08020101]]>>
His words remind me of our tether, and I wish it hadn't become so strong. With as steady a voice as I can hold, I admit: "As a girl, there were times when I returned to my room and found my dolls bound together into a totem."\n\n<<choice [[( Continue )|10010104]]>><<choice [[( Stop )|10010201]]>>
"You're. . . afraid?" Sarpa asks with surprise in his voice.\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|10010103]]>><<choice [[( Say nothing )|10010201]]>><<choice [[( End )|11010101]]>>
<<set $checked_monument = "yes">>//Maranym approaches where Sarpa stands, fascinated. Beyond, a tall monument looms above them both.//\n\nWithout warning, I feel icy fingers wring around my neck, tighter and tighter with every step I take toward it, with every second I cannot bring myself to turn away.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|10010102]]>>
//Scene 10-01. Interior, tunnels.\nMaranym cuts her way through the greatworm-infested tunnels, leaving slimeblood and cartilage in her wake. Along the way have been old bones of beasts that seem out of place for the fauna that she deals with. It registers, but she pays it no attention.//\n\n<<choice [[( Begin )|10010100b]]>>
The hollow eyes of the crowning skull stare back at me. "He promised that there was nothing to be afraid of."\n\n<<choice [[( End )|11010101]]>>
"Some stranger living under your house, under your bed, leaving 'presents' for you. That's terrifying." From the sides of my eyes, I see Sarpa think for a moment before turning to me. "Your father's promise. What was it?"\n\n<<choice [[( Answer )|10010107]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|11010101]]>>
"I never found out who was behind it. But seeing this now. . . It must be the same person."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|10010106]]>><<choice [[( End )|11010101]]>>
I pause. "I would run crying to Father, then. But each time, he made me a simple promise and walked with me back to my room. And each time, piece by piece, I would find it in me to take the totem apart."\n\n<<choice [[( Continue )|10010105]]>><<choice [[( Stop )|10010201]]>>
He pauses again and exhales. "Whole chickens are a bargain at 40."\n\n<<choice [[( Pay )|15030301]]>><<choice [[( Refuse bargain )|15030401]]>><<choice [[( Leave )|15030501]]>>
//Scene 15-03. Interior, butcher shop.\nWith Sarpa's help, Maranym finds the butcher shop and enters the building. She goes to the counter, where the butcher awaits.//\n\n<<choice [[( Begin )|15030101b]]>>
His response comes slowly. "Wings are 4 apiece; breasts, 7; thighs, 9; legclubs, 6."\n\n<<choice [[( Speak )|15030103]]>><<choice [[( Listen )|15030104]]>><<choice [[( End )|15030201]]>>
"Forgive me. I meant to say that I seek a whole chicken."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|15030104]]>><<choice [[( End )|15030201]]>>
Regal Arbor
Glancing around the room, his look is one of disinterest. "Was she a pacifist?"\n\n<<choice [[( End )|12060201]]>>
The welcome with which I am met does not surprise me, but it brings to mind something I do not expect.\n\n<<choice [[( Continue )|15020102]]>><<choice [[( Stop )|15020201]]>>
"Not really sure what to make of this," Sarpa says. "Maybe a construction site?"\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|12060103]]>><<choice [[( End )|12060201]]>>
As little as it matters, the thought makes enough sense. "A second basement, perhaps. Father told me once that Mother forbade weapons in the Manor. This place may have been their compromise before it was abandoned."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|12060104]]>><<choice [[( End )|12060201]]>>
The room smells of stagnancy and decay. Scratches line the walls while rubble of stone and wood litters the ground. I see nothing of value.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|12060102]]>><<choice [[( End )|12060201]]>>
.passage .title { \n\tdisplay: none; \n\t}\n\n.disabled { \n\tdisplay: none; \n\t}\n\n.passage:last-child .body { \n\tcolor: #f7ce8c !important; \n\t}
Charkee's blank smile grows still in the pause. "Oh I—I see. Forgive me, m'lady. I'll take care of that right away."\n\n<<choice [[( End )|16020202]]>>
She seems anxious. I supply her with ten silver coins and she leaves.\n\n<<choice [[( End )|16020301]]>>
The swarm must not reach the town.\n\n<<choice [[( Fight )|17010100]]>>
He snaps to attention. The tether again reverses. "Harvests. They're the only way. Sow with each strike you land, and reap when the fields are full."\n\n<<choice [[( End )|16010303]]>>
"I will need you with me, Sarpa."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|16010302]]>>
//Maranym breaks or moves the barrels before her, making her way to where Sarpa had gestured. As she clears a path, she also unearths a hatch on the ground. She pays it no attention at first. Instead she finds and picks up a pouch.//\n\nThe letters "W.C." mark the front. I recognize the embroidery, untouched by weathering of time or memory.\n\n<<choice [[( Return )|08020301]]>>
By its trajectory, the swarm will make landfall on the far side of the island across from town. They must not reach Knollhurst.\n\n<<choice [[( Fight )|17010100]]>>
"Whoa!" I hear Sarpa's voice call.\n\n<<choice [[( Speak )|08020102]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|08020103]]>>
//Maranym leaves the manor with Sarpa at her side. Once outside, the two of them look to the east and see. Sarpa takes a step forward.//\n\nHe stares into the distance at the humming, writhing darkness looming in, eating the horizon as it approaches. "If you mean to fight that. . ." he pauses. "Harvests. They're your only chance. Sow with each strike, and reap when the fields are full."\n\n<<choice [[( Speak )|16020602]]>><<choice [[( Fight )|17010100]]>>
After a time, he says: "Sorry. Didn't mean to pry." He studies the bones in a way I cannot bring myself to do. "These look different from the rabble we've been dealing with. Previous tenants, maybe?"\n\n<<choice [[( Speak )|10010202]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|11010101]]>>
I regather my thoughts. "Before my people were taken to this world, we lived on a planet we now call Old Arbor. There, I have read, it was not uncommon for one dominant species to be overtaken by another. It was the way of things."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|10010203]]>><<choice [[( End )|11010101]]>>
His voice darkens. "I don't think that's what happened here, Mara. Do you see these marks? Cuts from an edge weapon. And from the looks of it, all from the very same one. These beasts weren't replaced." He shows me what he's looking at.\n\n<<choice [[( Speak )|10010204]]>><<choice [[( End )|11010101]]>>
And then I know. "They were exterminated."\n\n<<choice [[( End )|11010101]]>>
I do not tell him that by an inkling I have had since I met him, I am all but certain of his nobility.\n\n<<choice [[( Speak )|15010201]]>>
Something compels me to leave it all. Charkee will have to acquire the ingredient herself.\n\n<<choice [[( Continue outside )|15030502]]>>
I tell him that many nobles are loved.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|15010105]]>><<choice [[( End )|15010201]]>>
"Hope I used to be commonfolk, then," he says. "No offense."\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|15010106]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|15010201]]>>
It seems the tether will always betray me, no matter what I try to hide or how hard. At last I say: "I am not welcome in Knollhurst."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|15010103]]>><<choice [[( End )|15010201]]>>
"Oh. Are all the nobility hated?"\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|15010104]]>><<choice [[( End )|15010201]]>>
//Scene 15-01. Exterior, town.\nMaranym makes her way right to the edge of the town of Knollhurst, the small island's only settlement. But she stops there. Sarpa phases in behind her.//\n\n<<choice [[( Begin )|15010101b]]>>
"This makes four with the white cinnamon," I tell Sarpa. "Shall we return to the Manor?"\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|14010102]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|14010201]]>>
Sarpa's spectral form appears to be breathing heavily, marked by fatigue that mirrors my own. Yet he still asks me, "You all right?"\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|12010102]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|12010201]]>>
~ prologue ~
With a cutting pain, my eyes readjust to the daylight. I find relief in the distance between me and the town.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|13010102]]>><<choice [[( Speak )|13010201]]>>
//Sarpa warps in beside her.//\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|16010102]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|16010202]]>>
The grass and the trees rise and fall with the slowness of breath. I think of my Father fallen asleep in his study and of the open book resting over his chest, rising, falling.\n\n<<choice [[( Continue )|16010101c]]>>
He resurfaces halfway through a barrel after a moment, floating. "True to form. At every noble estate, a hidden passage."\n\n<<choice [[( Speak )|08020104]]>><<choice [[( Investigate )|08020201]]>>
"Have you found something?"\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|08020103]]>>
//Scene 08-02. Interior, basement.\nAs Maranym continues searching on one side of the room, Sarpa begins poking around in another. After a few moments, Sarpa appears to lose his balance and, as if through air, he falls through the floor behind some barrels without any noise or signs of a single thing breaking.//\n\n<<choice [[( Begin )|08020101b]]>>
"Hey, there's a pouch wedged in back here," he says, pointing below him. "Think it's the one."\n\n<<choice [[( Investigate )|08020201]]>>
"Father never told me about a secret passageway in the Manor," I tell Sarpa.\n\nThat the thought of it makes me uncomfortable, I keep to myself.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|08020105]]>><<choice [[( End )|08020201]]>>
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N3WIfbnOe4VlW5LU2e9O/x8pfnpJA5+iz1a7b6b475G7QpzrW0UU/41HnMTX6pnMP52iIGcjEKsGkYQJcpXkO4QBt4sezlso/hXC+sAG/9zwg+KzmBrduKeO/IiYbamcRfhun/N37uwo+0ZvgAAAAASUVORK5CYII=
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r+vvaCbik6RgByNBH6PiCKbqEKywmc/tmlVU0Y8pDnBf8JICJkMvlKCJ2q+ZdsJHiVgSEiZLL7QCCpHFFv5X9Yd9CAV80jeGraC/i8yPVqPlGV18sQCAKlQgmLMkW0tekDJwlAcbaE5e3At754RsPhYBE/vh+xtztXxYStPTLUy6yuKkBLqLNKyBpMcPWFvxWtI6L5lcMgxaKHwgzB932US368ABw+NIOxsVF+EGl+xkk0WEbUuR77cSQutmWZp9v6+PHXr+mDLNRniah+PU/5H+If9VqkDlGzLrXgTyW/rT2LqeJxLMzGCEB3DwD4zm2a6yjMnPP+L3QywFllXxaAXW+6gU+FSBKw9LQ89g4dqoqdi/ynmP4LE+DYdrJeG2MAAAAASUVORK5CYII=
I assure him it is better.\n\n<<choice [[( End )|08020101]]>>
//Scene 11-01. Interior, tunnel nexus.\nSlaying beast after beast, Maranym manages to make it to the far end of the subterra where all tunnels lead. In the open area, traces of greatworm have grown only thicker.//\n\n<<choice [[( Begin )|11010101b]]>>
I realize I spoke out of turn. "Never mind," I add. "It is none of my business."\n\nI focus on searching the shelves.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|08010301]]>>
"So. A pouch with 'W.C.' on it, hm?" He appears to be complacent again, as if nothing is bothering him. "Hope Charkee's cooking is as good as you say."\n\n<<choice [[( Speak )|08010302]]>><<choice [[( End )|08020101]]>>
But before I can leave, the butcher comes around and stands in front of the door. My sword arm twitches, but his is not a fighting stance. He puts a package of chicken in my hands and says, "A noble with manners wouldn't insult a commoner of means, would she."\n\n<<continue [[( Continue outside )|15030503]]>>
It is enough. It is all enough and I feel the wind outside in silent beckoning.\n\n<<choice [[( End )|16010101]]>>
//Scene 15-02. Exterior, town.\nMaranym enters the town of Knollhurst. And every time she approaches one of the townsfolk, they move away and shut themselves in their houses. Soon, no one is left outside.//\n\n<<choice [[( Begin )|15020101b]]>>
.passage .title { \n\tdisplay: none; \n\t}\n\n.disabled { \n\tdisplay: none; \n\t}\n\n.passage:last-child .body { \n\tcolor: #c9a5ff !important; \n\t}
Some things do not change.\n\n<<choice [[( End )|15030101]]>>
I think of the few times when Father took us to the woods as children. The gamekeeper would lead my sister and brother on a hunt, while Father taught me how to tell juiceberries apart from poison. On fallen logs I would find wriggling lines of ants. And with a puff of air I would send them all scattering.\n\n<<choice [[( Continue )|15020103]]>><<choice [[( Stop )|15020201]]>>
I tell him: "A red one."\n\n<<choice [[( End )|12050201]]>>
"And what kind of horizon is she seeking now?" he asks.\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|12050109]]>><<choice [[( End )|12050201]]>>
For a moment I grow quiet.\n\n"Hey, wait," Sarpa calls. "By your foot. What is that?"\n\n<<choice [[( Examine )|12020202]]>>
//Scene 17-01. Exterior, island grounds.\nAn unwinnable battle ensues. Maranym's enemies are a swarm of lion-sized, gold-shelled hornets, and no matter how many she fells, their ranks offer no end.\n\nEventually the line she tries to hold against them in protection of Knollhurst falters, receding right to the very edge of the town.\n\nA moment comes where she falls. The hornets sense victory. They form a horseshoe around her, and close in. Slowly. Slowly.\n\nMaranym is on her last legs. She's made a valiant stand with Sarpa's Harvest attacks (a power born of their soulborne tether), but to no avail. She has no other choice.//\n\n<<choice [[( Accept defeat )|17010101]]>>
I explain to him that there could be many reasons. "Vagrants often build a tab at the tavern and leave when it is time to collect. When caught thieves escape, they tend to avoid populated areas. Naturalists prefer canopies to roofs."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|16020305]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|16020401]]>>
With a form beyond matter, he scratches his chin. "And why are you avoiding the town?"\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|16020306]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|16020401]]>>
There is something so soothing about the way that the windows let in sunlight while the walls keep everything inside the house safe.\n\n"Knollhurst is not my home."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|16020401]]>>
"Three lost treasures?" he asks.\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|12020204]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|12020301]]>>
"Small and isolated settlements often seem that way to some."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|16020303]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|16020401]]>>
//As Charkee shuts the front door, Sarpa reemerges.//\n\n"Looked like a nice town to me," Sarpa says. "Knollhurst, I mean."\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|16020302]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|16020401]]>>
Even I recall the soldiers of legend. I tell him of one whom Mitra took to heart above all others: Freyakog The Free, a knight of Old Arbor who fought to unite the early kingdoms peacefully. Yet it was her restlessness that led her to travel. It is said she never saw dusk or dawn from the same place.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|12050106]]>><<choice [[( End )|12050201]]>>
"I can't even count them," he says. For once, it is his heart that I sense in mine, and it is filled with fear.\n\n<<choice [[( Speak )|16010301]]>>
"Stop."\n\nSarpa directs my eyes across the island.\n\n<<choice [[( Look )|16010203]]>>
And I see it far in the distance, fast approaching. I draw out my axe.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|16010204]]>><<choice [[( Speak )|16010301]]>>
He pauses and thinks. "All right, say she did mark that burial. What about the rest of it? We're a long way in."\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|12050105]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|12050201]]>>
His gaze does not move from me. "Makes me wonder why a person would avoid it."\n\n<<choice [[( Speak )|16020304]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|16020401]]>>
We had more than that in common. "If Mitra found the mouth of this cave, she would not stop until she saw it all the way through. Perhaps she took a liking to the quiet here."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|12050108]]>><<choice [[( End )|12050201]]>>
The completed exchange leaves us even. He owes me nothing, as I him. Yet I recite Father's words: "Thank you."\n\n<<choice [[( End )|16010101]]>>
//A short ways in, before any fights break out, Sarpa warps in and stands studying a dirt mound of some kind to the side of a circular area. Maranym keeps her eyes on the path ahead.//\n\n<<choice [[( Investigate )|09010101]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|10010100]]>>
//Scene 13-01. External, island grounds.\nAfter Maranym scales the dirt walls up from the underground tunnels, she emerges back to surface level on the island, on the far side away from the manor and the town.//\n\n<<choice [[( Begin )|13010101b]]>>
Sarpa pretends to take a deep breath of air he cannot touch. "Bet it smells great right now. Does it?" His hushed voice cracks high.\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|13010103]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|13010201]]>>
"An adventurer," Sarpa says. "Seems the two of you have that in common."\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|12050107]]>><<choice [[( End )|12050201]]>>
I tell Sarpa that we should hurry. "I see a way out above. Come."\n\n<<choice [[( Exit )|13010101]]>>
It alarms me how fast the tether is growing. "I suspect my senses will continue to inform yours as time passes."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|13010106]]>><<choice [[( End )|13010201]]>>
Then all at once, an epiphany ignites his expression. "We have to move, Maranym! If Charkee wants to cook you a delicious welcome dinner that tantalizes the senses, then—hell—you better not keep her waiting on those ingredients!"\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|13010107]]>><<choice [[( End )|13010201]]>>
I have never seen him so enthused. Yet I can hardly blame him.\n\n<<choice [[( End )|13010201]]>>
"That can't be right."\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|16010105]]>><<choice [[( End )|16010201]]>>
A strand of light leads my eyes upward. Atop a stretch of wall I can climb, an exit looms. "We should go," I tell Sarpa. "Charkee is waiting."\n\n<<choice [[( Exit )|13010101]]>>
"It is common for anyone to take up a sword when they have something to fight for." I only realize after I say it that those are Mitra's words.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|12050104]]>><<choice [[( End )|12050201]]>>
Rocks along the wall lead my eyes up to an opening. "We should go," I tell Sarpa. "Charkee is waiting."\n\n<<choice [[( Exit )|13010101]]>>
written by Harald Hagen
"Is it common for women in your family to take up arms as men do?" Sarpa asks.\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|12050103]]>><<choice [[( End )|12050201]]>>
"Find the butcher shop so that we may be on our way," I tell Sarpa.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|15010202]]>><<choice [[( End )|15020101]]>>
"Oh. My mistake. Thought you'd know where it is."\n\n//Sarpa teleports away.//\n\n<<choice [[( End )|15020101]]>>
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
"None of that matters," I say. "We should hurry to the Manor."\n\n<<choice [[( Go home )|16010202]]>>
<<silently>>\n<<set $checked_burial = "no">>\n<<set $checked_monument = "no">>\n<<endsilently>>\n|[img[portrait-maranym]]|[img[portrait-sarpa]]|[img[portrait-charkee2]]|[img[portrait-butcher2]]|\n|<center><font color="#c9a5ff">Maranym</font></center>|<center><font color="#a1e2de">Sarpa</font></center>|<center><font color="#f7ce8c">Charkee</font></center>|<center><font color="#ff4747">Butcher</font></center>|\n\n<<choice [[The following is a script for the demo of "Regal Arbor", a fantasy action-RPG (current development status: in hiatus).\n\nThe scenes take place near the beginning of the game on an island suspended on the branches of a planet-sized tree. On the island is a small town known as Knollhurst, with an old mansion situated on a hill a short walk away.\n\nThe script is formatted into Twine to approximate how it would appear in-game. The text, although narrated in first-person, would be shown in a dialogue box next to the subject's portrait.\n\nIn lieu of the portraits, I've indicated the speaker via text color, as shown above.\n\nClick on any part of this text to start.|08010101]]>>
A tangled smell mantles the air, of rain and old tree bark and a hint of something spice-like. Line drawings fill the wall. Odd rocks and sticks sit in ceremonial mounds. To none of it is there a sense of order.\n\nGradually I come to know what the foreign, untamed place used to be underneath.\n\n"This is a child's hideout."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|12020103]]>><<choice [[( Move on )|12020201]]>>
". . . Guess I'll just look around for it then."\n\n<<choice [[( End )|08020101]]>>
.passage .title { \n\tdisplay: none; \n\t}\n\n.disabled { \n\tdisplay: none; \n\t}\n\n.passage:last-child .body { \n\tcolor: #a1e2de !important; \n\t}
The completed exchange makes us even. He owes me nothing, as I him. I can finally return to the Manor, away from these people.\n\n<<choice [[( End )|16010101]]>>
I draw out my axe. "Sarpa," I call out. "I may need you."\n\n<<choice [[( Head outside )|16020601]]>>
He does not take or even look at the money. Instead he fetches a chicken and wraps it in glossy brown paper scented with mint. He hands it to me and says nothing.\n\n<<choice [[( Thank him )|15030303]]>><<choice [[( Leave )|15030304]]>>
Whatever we may be missing, Charkee can find it herself.\n\n<<choice [[( End )|16020101]]>>
"Very well," I tell him. I stack four pillars of coppers on the counter, counting out ten for each.\n\n<<choice [[( Wait )|15030302]]>>
<<silently>>\n<<set $checked_burial = "no">>\n<<set $checked_monument = "no">>\n<<endsilently>>\n<<choice [[The following is a script for the demo of "Regal Arbor", a pixel-based fantasy action-RPG. Although incomplete, the project was developed by Diffusive Games.\n\nThe scenes take place near the beginning of the game on an island suspended on the branches of a planet-sized tree. On the island is a small town known as Knollhurst, with an old mansion situated on a hill a short walk away.\n\nThe script is formatted into Twine to approximate how it would appear in the final game. The text herein, although narrated in first-person, would be shown in an on-screen dialogue box next to the subject's portrait. In lieu of the portraits, I've indicated the speaker via text color.\n\n> RED text: Maranym (the narrator)\n> PURPLE text: Sarpa\n> DARK YELLOW text: Charkee\n> BLACK-BOLD: the Butcher of Knollhurst\n\nClick on any part of this text to start.|08010101]]>>
//A massive blur leaps down and crashes near Maranym, sending her flying back. It's the kingworm, and it lets out a sickly bellow as she Maranym staggers to her feet.//\n\nI see it. Fury inconsolable seethes inside its body, raging against the intruder in its nest. What is coming is inevitable.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|11010103]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|12010101]]>>
"My power's yours, Maranym," he yells. "Burn this thing down!"\n\n<<choice [[( End )|12010101]]>>
Sarpa glances around the cave once more. "Can you really know something without knowing it in your heart?"\n\n<<choice [[( End )|12030201]]>>
"I do not know, Sarpa. But it is ludicrous to renounce the faith of my people based only on a feeling, is it not?"\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|12030109]]>><<choice [[( End )|12030201]]>>
"Seems natural for anything to have a past," Sarpa says.\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|12030104]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|12030201]]>>
The grave and the bone totem refuse to leave my mind. I look again at the wall markings. "I believe I was wrong before. This place is not the work of my brother or sister, or any lost child for that matter."\n\nThe words I say ignore the doubts I feel, yet I cannot stop them. "I feel history here—a true history that forms from ages and lifetimes beyond even Father's generation. But I know this is impossible."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|12030103]]>><<choice [[( End )|12030201]]>>
"You think this is what he meant?"\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|12030108]]>><<choice [[( End )|12030201]]>>
A part of me envies him. I relay something Father told me during lessons. "As a child, I hated how there was nothing to see here, and when I asked him why he chose to build the Manor in Knollhurst, he spoke of destiny. He said: 'Destiny is the road you pave and Fate is the road you walk'."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|12030107]]>><<choice [[( End )|12030201]]>>
His eyes tense. "Everything's a haze."\n\n<<choice [[( Speak )|12030106]]>><<choice [[( End )|12030201]]>>
"It contradicts Regenerist Theory. If New Arbor was born less than thirty years ago and all that remains of the old world is us, then something this old cannot exist. Nothing can predate the world's birth. Have you forgotten?"\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|12030105]]>><<choice [[( End )|12030201]]>>
//Halfway through the tunnels, Sarpa warps in and again becomes fixated on some sort of fixture off to the side.//\n\n<<choice [[( Investigate )|10010101]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|11010101]]>>
With my eyes I trace a path up the wall to a way out of the caves. "We should go," I tell Sarpa. "Charkee is waiting."\n\n<<choice [[( Exit )|13010101]]>>
"Cinnamon Chicken. . ." he says. "I'm already salivating."\n\n<<choice [[( End )|14010101]]>>
"You are the last of a disgraced dynasty. And we do not need you."\n\n\n( End of Demo )
My eyes turn blurry. I see only the silhouette of a stranger before me. He kneels down and whispers words that carry me into the dark, consciousness slipping through my fingers.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|17010203]]>>
Why? What are they doing here? But it is my duty. Father said so. He said that I must protect the commonfolk. He said it.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|17010202]]>>
//Flashes illuminate the island, flooding Maranym's sight in brief bursts of light and power. Through them, she catches glimpses.\n\nThe townsfolk leap and fly in from Knollhurst, throwing out their own magic and destroying the hornets surrounding Maranym.//\n\n<<choice [[( Continue )|17010201]]>>
"Go hide then," I tell her. "I will see it for myself."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|16020404]]>><<choice [[( Speak )|16020501]]>>
//Charkee bursts in through the front doors.//\n\n"M-M'lady, we must hide!" pleads Charkee. "Outside— there's— there's—"\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|16020403]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|16020501]]>>
Sarpa looks about to speak when a scream from outside singes the air.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|16020402]]>>
I breathe in deeply. "Air is air. Only, the bitter smell from below is gone."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|13010104]]>><<choice [[( End )|13010201]]>>
Her face was as pale as bone. I assure her I will join her once I have gauged the threat.\n\n<<choice [[( End )|16020501]]>>
"No, m'lady, you can't! They'll be upon the island soon!"\n\n<<choice [[( Comfort )|16020405]]>><<choice [[( End )|16020501]]>>
"Then travel the lightlands," I tell him. "Find another noble house and see how the commonfolk treat them with respect."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|16010106]]>><<choice [[( End )|16010201]]>>
"And in its place," he adds, "is such a sweetness." He smiles. "I can actually almost smell it. Through you, maybe?"\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|13010105]]>><<choice [[( End )|13010201]]>>
He seems taken aback, and I wonder how I must have sounded. "So, what is it about yours?" he asks. "What have the Capitonyms done?"\n\n<<choice [[( End )|16010201]]>>
//Scene 16-01. Exterior, island grounds.\nMaranym walks alone out of Knollhurst, making her way back to the manor. Her pace is fast until she reaches a halfway point, on a raised bridge far from both the manor and the town. For a moment, she stops.//\n\n<<choice [[( Begin )|16010101b]]>>
"You need only look at the monarchy. In Solya, everyone loves the Queen."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|16010104]]>><<choice [[( End )|16010201]]>>
"I have to ask," Sarpa says. "You're sure not all nobles are hated?"\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|16010103]]>><<choice [[( End )|16010201]]>>
I hear Sarpa's voice call out my name from the abyss that is our tether.\n\nAnd then everything changes.\n\n<<choice [[( End )|17010200]]>>
White cinnamon is already in hand. What remains is only a handful of fresh apples, a cut of honeycomb, and a bottle of goldwine. "We will find the other ingredients faster if you lead the way," I tell Sarpa. "Scout on ahead."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|13010202]]>><<choice [[( End )|14010101]]>>
"At any rate," I say, "the matter is resolved. The nest will not be far."\n\n<<if $checked_burial eq "yes" or $checked_monument eq "yes">><<choice [[( End )|12020101]]>><<else>><<choice [[( End )|12060101]]>><<endif>>
"Not on a social occasion, I take it."\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|12040109]]>><<choice [[( End )|12040201]]>>
For how few people attended the occasion, I tell him: "No."\n\n<<choice [[( End )|12040201]]>>
His eyes squint at our surroundings. "A little elaborate for a boy's playground, isn't it?"\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|12040105]]>><<choice [[( End )|12040201]]>>
An itch sparks near an old scar on my arm. "I try not to make a habit of underestimating my brother."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|12040106]]>><<choice [[( End )|12040201]]>>
"Where is he now?"\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|12040107]]>><<choice [[( End )|12040201]]>>
"Who can say? Two years have passed since I last saw him. He left home long before I did."\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|12040108]]>><<choice [[( End )|12040201]]>>
The pendants claim my thoughts: spider, snake, bat. "My sister, Mitranym, gravitated toward the construct of honor even as a girl. Soldiers of legend were her bedtime tales. When I think about that burial mound, it seems her sort of handiwork the most."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|12050102]]>><<choice [[( End )|12050201]]>>
For a moment I think I hear a boy laughing. "The truth," I begin, "is that I have always suspected my brother to be the one behind the totems. I confronted him about it and of course Meronym denied it all. But I cannot see who else it could have been."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|12040102]]>><<choice [[( End )|12040201]]>>
"Did you two not play well?" Sarpa asks, smiling.\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|12040103]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|12040201]]>>
"Mero preferred the company of animals when we were little; so much so, he used to bring their carcasses into his room for study. It seems that even after Father forbade it, Mero did not cease his interests, only learned to better hide them."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|12040104]]>><<choice [[( End )|12040201]]>>
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His eyes linger upon me. And I wonder: what do they see?\n\n<<choice [[( End )|15010101]]>>
I had not forgotten. "I suppose we should head into the butcher's in town, then."\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|14010104]]>><<choice [[( End )|15010101]]>>
"You're forgetting one, Maranym. The most important, too." He pauses. "Chicken? To make cinnamon chicken?"\n\n<<choice [[( Speak )|14010103]]>><<choice [[( End )|14010201]]>>
//Scene 14-01. Exterior, island grounds.\nMaranym and Sarpa scour the island together and manage to collect more of the ingredients.//\n\n<<choice [[( Begin )|14010101b]]>>
But what good will it do to think about that? I stifle the old memory.\n\n<<choice [[( End )|15030101]]>>
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Sarpa's eyes widen like a child's and trace around the room with the slowness of awe. "I hope I had a place like this, growing up. No, I must have."\n\n<<choice [[( Ask )|12020104]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|12020201]]>>
"Of course. I did not obtain any."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|16020201]]>>
//Scene 12-02. Interior, tunnel nexus nest.\nA path opens up on the other side of where Maranym had fought against the kingworm. She walks down the narrow tunnel with Sarpa close behind, and they come upon what seems to be a small, circular nest.//\n\n<<choice [[( Begin )|12020101b]]>>
I tell him I know the feeling.\n\n<<choice [[( End )|12020201]]>>
She looks them over. "Pardons, m'lady, but the chicken appears to be missing."\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|16020104]]>><<choice [[( End )|16020201]]>>
"Do you remember something?" I ask.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|12020105]]>><<choice [[( Withdraw )|12020201]]>>
"No. Everything's still foreign to me. But I'm in melancholy. Like I'm seeing a house that looks like the one I grew up in, only another family's living there."\n\n<<choice [[( Respond )|12020106]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|12020201]]>>
No.\n\nI cannot fail.\n\nAs a noble, I. . .\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|17010102]]>>
"I searched the island and found these," I tell her, and I present four ingredients.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|16020103]]>><<choice [[( End )|16020201]]>>
I feel pressure in my throat, and my breaths turn fleeting. I cannot think or see or walk.\n\nI retreat outside to relearn how to breathe.\n\n<<choice [[( Go home )|14010201]]>>
//Scene 08-01. Interior, basement.\nDown a creaky stairwell, a young armor-clad woman named Maranym enters a basement filled with barrels and pouch-lined shelves. Dust wraps every surface. Sarpa follows behind her, but stops at the last step. Maranym begins looking around.//\n\n<<choice [[( Begin )|08010101b]]>>
I tell him that my mother took to inscribing initials on every spice and condiment in our household, painting bottles in the palm of her hand and sewing pouches from rabbit hides. Those initials are how I will find it.\n\n<<choice [[( Speak on )|08010103]]>><<choice [[( Listen )|08010104]]>>
"It was before I was born. Father told me so."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|08010104]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|08010301]]>>
"Seems like a strange hobby," he says. "Especially for a noblewoman."\n\n<<choice [[( Speak )|08010105]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|08010301]]>>
"I suppose she knew of how I would be— of what I would become. Even then, she knew."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|08010106]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|08010301]]>>
His eyes linger on mine for a moment. Then he looks away. "Must be nice," he says.\n\n<<choice [[( Ask )|08010201]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|08010301]]>>
//Scene 16-02. Interior, Capitonym Manor.\nHaving foregone the search for the final ingredient, Maranym returns home. Inside awaits Charkee, the manor's last remaining caretaker. Sarpa is nowhere to be seen.//\n\n<<choice [[( Begin )|16020101b]]>>
I find myself staring at the hatch beneath my feet when Sarpa speaks.\n\n"Bound to be some beasts down there," he warns.\n\n<<choice [[( Speak )|08020302]]>><<choice [[( End )|09010100]]>>
I tell him, "Of everything, they are not what frighten me."\n\n<<choice [[( End )|09010100]]>>
I speak as Father showed me. I look the man in the butcher store in the eyes and smile.\n\n"I seek chicken."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|15030102]]>><<choice [[( End )|15030201]]>>
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"Oh," exclaims Charkee. "I didn't know you'd left, m'lady."\n\n<<choice [[( Present ingredients )|16020102]]>>
"You mistake me for a commoner. I need not a lowered price."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|15030402]]>><<choice [[( Speak )|15030403]]>><<choice [[( Leave )|15030501]]>>
His manner seems strange, so I assure him that mine is a family of means.\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|15030404]]>><<choice [[( Leave )|15030501]]>>
He inhales his own phlegm. "Oh," he says. "Then allow me to pay my respects." He throws a chicken onto a sheet of glossy brown paper scented with mint, wraps it, and drops it on the counter in front of me. "For your great house."\n\n<<choice [[( Speak )|15030403]]>><<choice [[( Leave )|15030501]]>>
He tells me he insists. I have little choice but to oblige him.\n\n<<choice [[( End )|16010101]]>>
"Do you know what white cinnamon looks like?" Sarpa asks me.\n\n<<choice [[( Speak )|08010102]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|08010401]]>>
<<if $checked_burial eq "yes" and $checked_monument eq "yes">><<choice [[//Maranym comes to an understanding.//|12030101]]>><<elseif $checked_burial eq "no" and $checked_monument eq "yes">><<choice [[//Maranym comes to an understanding.//|12040101]]>><<elseif $checked_burial eq "yes" and $checked_monument eq "no">><<choice [[//Maranym comes to an understanding.//|12050101]]>><<else>><<choice [[//Maranym comes to an understanding.//|12060201]]>><<endif>>
//Scene 12-01. Interior, tunnel nexus.\nAfter a harrowing battle using Sarpa's magic, Maranym slays the kingworm and leaves its steaming carcass splayed across the floor. Her companion has stayed visible throughout the fight.//\n\n<<choice [[( Begin )|12010101b]]>>
It surprises him when I mention it. He laughs. "Courtesy, I guess. Asking someone that after a bloody fight against a dangerous, violent creature."\n\n<<choice [[( Speak )|12010104]]>><<choice [[( Ignore )|12010201]]>>
"Can you not sense my state?" I ask. "Our tether seems strong enough to fool you into breathing."\n\n<<choice [[( Listen )|12010103]]>><<choice [[( Interrupt )|12010201]]>>
I brush off the battle's residue from my armor. "Do not be so dramatic," I tell him. I look back at the carcass. "I was not the one in danger."\n\n<<choice [[( Continue )|12010201]]>>